“Hello coach! Thierry Henry squints, laughs and, putting his hand on the shoulder of Didier Deschamps, justifies his ostensible good humor. “Since I arrived, I have the impression of saying coach to everyone. “On this inauguration day, the new coach of the Espoirs has, in a few seconds, already tightened the hand of three “coaches” who, for various reasons, will have marked his career with a milestone.
Jean Tigana, under whose orders he revealed himself to the general public in Monaco, Raymond Domenech, with whom he (re)awoke in Blue with the Espoirs and closed his international career during his fourth and last World Cup in 2010, and of course Didier Deschamps, with whom he was crowned world champion in 1998 and whom he has found, in recent days, in the federal fold.
All, this Tuesday morning, were gathered Clairefontaine, in the heart of the den of the Blues, for the homage reserved for Michel Hidalgo, coach of the France team from 1975 to 1984, whose new space now bears the name at the national center of soccer.
The FFF inaugurated today at CNF Clairefontaine, the ???????????????????????? ????????????????????????-????????????????????????????, in tribute to the former coach of the French team who died in March 2020 pic.twitter.com/1XhMxNVBWf
— FFF (@FFF) September 5, 2023
Under the eyes of his widow Monique, the president of the FFF Philippe Diallo and the president of the Île-de-France region Valérie Pécresse unveiled a bust of the former coach at the heart of this brand new extension called “Espace Michel Hidalgo”. . A 5 million euro complex financed at 30% by the region and whose almost 5 hectares accommodate an 11-a-side pitch, another for reduced play, a building with a weight room, changing rooms, two accommodation residences , catering and meeting rooms as well as a research center, “a mark of modernity and innovation where new technologies (data, virtual reality, etc.) will serve progress”, explained President Diallo in delivering a strong tribute to Michel Hidalgo, a coach who, according to him, “embodied a form of romanticism”.
Jean Tigana, Monique Hidalgo, Valérie Pécresse, Philippe Diallo and Jacques Troger. Hugo Pfeiffer/Icon Sport
So much so that when speaking to evoke the one who will remain the symbol of the first footballing emotions of an entire generation, to tell the one he will have “seen in tears in the locker room after the cruel defeat against Germany de l’Ouest in the semi-finals of the 1982 World Cup” and “who cried again, but this time with joy, after France’s victory at Euro 1984”, Jean Tigana apologized for having to short.
Henry was ‘going to be 7 when France won in 1984’
“I had prepared a speech, will say the former pillar of the magic square, brandishing his sheet of paper, but the president has already said everything. “Failing to discuss Hidalgo, “his passion for transmission, his generosity and the inspiring role he had for many”, the president of the club of former French internationals had fun opening the memory box .
“As at the time Fernand Sastre (president of the FFF) deprived us of bonuses to buy Clairefontaine, now do not hesitate to invite me more often”, he launched all smiles at Didier Deschamps, the current “master” of the place, before he took over at the microphone.
“If we have such infrastructure today, it is because people have ensured that French football develops and Michel Hidalgo is one of them, assured the coach. It is part of the history of French football. “Thierry Henry will not have had the chance to talk to him. “But he is a reference for me. He transcended me!, he says. I was about to be 7 when France won in 1984. When I think of him, I think first of all of victory. »
